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Batcave
Batcave Owner: Batman (Bruce Wayne) Designation: Headquarters Affiliation: Bat Family First Appearance: Detective Comics #83 (January 1944) Brief: The Batcave has always been the home sanctuary/base of the Batman and his team. Located directly underneath Wayne Manor the cave was first discovered by a young Bruce Wayne when he was four years old, stumbling and falling into one the of the many grottoes on the estate. Years later he would begin to use the caves to store his equipment secretly as the vigilante Batman eventually transfroming the cave itself into a base of operations for his continuing war on crime. The cave is accessible in several ways due to the shear scale of the cave's network of tunnels. It's main entrance can be reached through a secret door in Wayne Manor itself, which is located in the main study, behind a grandfather clock. The panel unlocks when the hands of the clock are set to the time that Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered: 10:47. Another secret entrance, covered by a hologram or a camouflaged door, allows access to a service road for the Batmobile. Another alternate entrance is a dry well through which Bruce Wayne first discovered the caves. At one point, Tim Drake and Dick Grayson use the dry well to get into the cave, which they had been locked out of by Jean-Paul Valley during his time as Batman. History: The cave systems under Wayne Manor were discovered and used long before by Wayne's ancestors as a storehouse as well as a means of transporting escaped slaves during the Civil War era. The 18th century frontier hero Tomahawk also once discovered a gargantuan bat (owned by of Arthurian legend) inside what can be assumed will become the Batcave before Bruce Wayne himself rediscovered them when he fell through a dilapidated well on his estate. Upon his initial foray into crime-fighting, Wayne used the caves as a sanctum and to store his then-minimal equipment. As time went on, Wayne found the place ideal to create a stronghold for his war against crime, and has incorporated a plethora of equipment as well as expanding the cave for specific uses. Due to the Gotham Cataclysm, an earthquake that leveled the majority of Gotham City, the cave systems were restructured by the quake, forcing Batman to rebuild not only the cave, but Wayne Manor as well due to the building partially falling into the caves when the ground opened up. Following the reappearance of the Multiverse and the reshapping of the dimensions in the Infinite Crisis, the Batcave was altered to take on the characteristics of both the Post-Cataclysm era cave and the Pre-Cataclysm era cave. Although a virtual stronghold the cave has been invaded on more then one occasion wether accidentally by Man-Bat or far more intentionally by David Cain, Ra's al Ghul, the Black Glove and other heroes have been allowed access from time to time, such as Superman and his cousin Supergirl as well as Batman's extended family of vigilante crime fighters. Variants 1940's Batcave Originally operating out of the old barn on the Wayne property, Batman accidentally discovered the caverns beneath. At first it was used to store his crimefighting equipment and vehicles, but soon it would serve as his base of operations. 1950's Batcave As the Dynamic Duo's crusade continued, more space would be needed. In the diagram shown, which is only a partial view, you can see that Batman began adding a second level. 1960's Batcave 1970's BatBunker With Dick Grayson off to college, Bruce Wayne decided to move his base of operations to the center of Gotham City. Living in the penthouse of the Wayne Foundation building, Batman moved the contents of the Batcave into a secret sub-basement which became his headquarters for a decade, becoming known as the Bat Bunker. Eventually the base and all of its equipment would move back to Wayne Manor, however after Bruce Wayne's "death" at the hands of Darkseid, Richard Grayson would take the mantle of Batman and move the cave back to this location. 1980's Batcave In the 80's the Batcave contained the world's most sophisticated computerized crime-lab, an exhaustive computerized file on all known criminals and their methods of operation, a complex workshop where the Batman continues to improve and update the contents of his utility belt, an automotive repair shop, and appropriate housing for his Batmobile, Batplane and Batboat. Perhaps the cave's most famous attraction is the Hall of Trophies, containing mementos from the Batman's greatest cases, foremost among these being the giant penny, the robot dinosaur, and the monstrous Joker playing card that hangs from the ceiling. Access to the Batcave can be gained only through the camouflaged doors which allow entry and exit for the Batplane, Batboat and Batmobile, or through the secret door behind the stately grandfather clock, which stands in Bruce Wayne's study and leads to a winding staircase down to the cave itself. At various times Wayne has also used an elevator to reach the Batcave, but has apparently abandoned it due to mechanical difficulties. 1990's Batcave The Batcave of the 1990's had a crime lab and forensics tools that rivaled those of the F.B.I. or Interpol. WayneTech sub-contracts ahd advanced the sciences of genetic and fiber analysis, while quantum leaps in computer engineering provided Batman with the hardware and software necessary to assemble the world's foremost digital database on criminals and their psychology. Later on a subway rocket terminal was added thanks to Jean-Paul Valley's stint as Batman, providing Jean-Paul with a fast way to access down-town Gotham other than the Batmobile. Another unique addition to the cave was the handy-man hunchback Harold who was employed by Batman to work in the cave after being saved from Penguin. Due to increased air-space surveillance by the authorities Batman was forced to ground his flying fleet and rely instead on "borrowed" WayneTech aircraft operating from Gotham hangers. The cave, like the manor above it, fell victim to the earthquake that devastated Gotham. This forced the Dark Knight to remodel drastically. 2000's Batcave (Pre-Crisis) 2000's Batcave (Post-Crisis) 2010's BatBunker 2010's Batcave Gallery= Trivia Location Databank Category:Locations